An Unexpected Guest
by completewithtypos
Summary: Minerva plans a surprise birthday party for Albus down to the last detail. What could possibly go wrong? ADMM


An Unexpected Guest

_A/N: Not mine. Belongs to J.K. Rowling, and I'm not making money off this, that's for sure. _

Minerva watched as her owl flew off with the last of the invitations. Albus was turning 100 in a few days, and while he didn't normally celebrate his birthdays, she felt that a surprise party was in order. So Minerva had taken the liberty of planning one for him. She hoped he wouldn't mind, he didn't like a fuss being made over him, but a person doesn't turn 100 everyday. She had kept the party relatively small; their colleagues at Hogwarts, Albus' brother Aberforth, Nicholas and Pernelle, and Alastor. Each person invited was allowed one guest, and it would take place two nights from then in the Great Hall. Now all she had to do was keep it from Albus, and after working so closely for years, he could read her like a book.

That morning at breakfast, Albus was unusually quiet. At first, Minerva didn't notice, focusing more on acting normal herself so as not to arouse suspicion. After the food arrived though she noticed he was answering her questions and comments with as few words as possible and was pushing his food around on his plate like a child who didn't want to eat his vegetables.

"Albus, are you all right?" she asked, her voice reflecting the concern she felt.

He nodded. "I'm fine." He replied in a low tone.

"You don't look fine." She said.

"I guess I'm just feeling a little old." He told her.

"You? You are the last person I would consider to be old." She told him.

"But the truth is, I am. Min, I'm going to be 100 in a few days."

"I know. But that is hardly old for a wizard with your power. You have a good one hundred and fifty years left. And you certainly don't act old. Sometimes you act as young as the first years, and I worry for your sanity, but I think it's wonderful that you can remain so young at heart. There are times I wish I could be as fun and carefree as you."

A small smile appeared on his lips. "Thank you, my dear." He reached over for her hand, and pressed a kiss to her knuckles before releasing it. "What would I do without you to keep me thinking straight?"

"I don't know, though if I didn't keep you focused you'd end up splashing with the squid and the children in the lake." She said, smiling.

"What are you doing two nights from now?" he asked her.

She amazed herself with her smooth lie. "Nothing special. Probably just grading 6th year essays."

"Come to dinner with me. We'll go into Hogsmeade." He said.

"Of course I will." She replied.

"I'll pick you up at seven." He said.

She smiled, he had just made life incredibly easy for her. Now all she had to do was make sure that everything was ready and she could drag him into the Great Hall at the last moment.

After breakfast Minerva went to her office and found an owl tapping at the window. As she opened it, another swooped in and landed on her desk. She took the parchment from both owls and gave them a ginger newt before reading the notes. Alastor was coming alone, he would probably meet up with Poppy at the party, and Aberforth was bringing a guest. Minerva was surprised, she knew Aberforth fairly well; he was eccentric to put it mildly, and he was rarely seen in the company of women. Pushing her curiosity aside, she returned to her grading and party plans. She had to make sure that everything was perfect.

Two days later, Minerva woke up feeling a little nervous and excited. She showered and dressed, and had just finished pinning up her hair when there was a knock on the door. She smiled when she found her best friend on the other side.

"Good morning, my dear," he said, returning her smile.

"Good morning, and Happy Birthday old man," she teased, then leaned up on her toes to kiss his cheek affectionately.

He chuckled and took her arm as they made their way to breakfast.

"So are you feeling better this morning?" she asked him.

"Much better, my dear. Of course, I have something to look forward to this evening."

For a split second Minerva panicked, before she realized that he hadn't found out about he party, but was referring to their dinner date instead. She felt slightly disappointed by the fact that they wouldn't be going to dinner that night. She enjoyed their time alone together.

"Are you all right, Min?" he concerned voice broke into her thoughts. "You seem preoccupied."

"I'm fine, Albus. I can't remember if I wrapped your present or not," she told him.

"You shouldn't have…" he began.

"Yes I should. You are my best friend and it's your birthday." She interrupted and her but caring tone told him he shouldn't argue.

As always on Albus' birthdays, well any staff member's birthday, the house elves prepared their favorite foods at mealtimes. Belgian waffles were the main breakfast dish that morning. Minerva was not fond of mixing her food, but delighted in the fresh fruit on the side.

After breakfast Minerva retreated to her classroom. Unfortunately, she still had classes to teach. She set her students to transfiguring pears into violins and back while she made sure everything was planned to perfection for that night. The house elves had been sworn to secrecy and they, along with Snape who had a secret penchant for baking were in charge of the cake and snacks.

Pomona, Xiomara, and Poppy were in charge of decorating, and Filius and Hagrid were set to the task of keeping Albus and students away from the Great Hall after dinner at all costs. The only problem now was what to wear.

At 6.45 that evening, Minerva was ready. She wore a dress of emerald that matched her eyes perfectly. Instead of her usual tight bin, she had opted to loosely pile her long dark curls on the top of her head, leaving a few strands to frame her face. She had even put in contact lenses though she despised them, her glasses just didn't fit with the dress. She spun agitatedly in front of the mirror, hoping she looked all right, and not believing it. She also hoped party preparations were going well. Minerva was considering running down to check, when there came a knock at the door. Checking her appearance one more time and sighing loudly, she went to open the door.

Albus stood on the other side and when the door swung open, his breath caught at the vision before him.

"Minerva," he gaped, "My dear, you look absolutely beautiful."

She blushed a little and smiled. He moved to take her arm, all the while staring into her captivating green eyes. At length he found his voice.

"Shall we floo or apparate?"

"Apparate. I could use a bit of fresh air." She said as they began to walk in the direction of the front doors and the Great Hall.

They were passing the doors to the Great Hall and he was just about to summon his cloak when Minerva suddenly grabbed his arm.

"Did you hear that?" she asked, surprising herself with how believable she sounded.

"No, what?"

"A noise. It sounded like students running around in the Great Hall. Come on." She said tugging him towards the doors before he could grow suspicious. She threw open the door and pushed him in ahead of her. A chorus of voices yelled, 'SURPRISE!' as the lights came up. Albus was thoroughly surprised. He turned to Minerva with wide, gleaming eyes.

"You planned this!" he cried.

"Yes. I hoped you would like it." She replied.

He glanced around the room at all his friends. "Min, this is wonderful! Thank you, my dear, I've never had a surprise party." He pulled her into an embrace and kissed her cheek.

Soon the party was in full swing. Minerva was chatting with Pomona when Aberforth walked by.

"Aberforth!" Minerva called. "Where is you guest. You must introduce us to her."

Aberforth nodded, and scanned the room.

It was then that Minerva noticed the Happy Birthday banner was on the floor and being eaten by,

"A GOAT?!" she shrieked. "Why the hell is there a goat here!"

Aberforth cleared his throat. "Uhm, that's my guest." He said uncomfortably.

"A goat, Aberforth! You brought a goat to a birthday party! Of all the…"

Apparently, her shrieking had frightened the goat because it ran to hide beneath the table, but only succeeded in sending the punch bowl flying, the sticky liquid drenching Minerva. She stood silently for a moment, and so did everyone else. Albus had almost reached her when she turned on her heel and fled.

"Minerva!" he called. Turning to Aberforth, he said gently, "Take the goat home, Abe." Then he took off after Minerva. He saw her running blindly along the edge of the lake. He was a long way off when he saw her trip and fall. She didn't get up and he ran faster.

"Minerva!" he was at her side on the ground in a flash. "Minerva, are you all right?"

Minerva lifted her head, and looked at him. Her face was streaked with tears, punch, and dirt, and her hair had fallen and was sticking in the punch. She was the most beautiful woman Albus had ever seen.

"I'm sorry," she cried. "Your party is ruined."

"Min, that wasn't your fault. Aberforth was never very good at protocol and appropriateness. I'm so sorry that he ruined everything that you worked so hard on." He said.

"I must look a mess." She mumbled, looking at the ground. He reached up and cupped her cheek in his palm, forcing her to look at him.

"You look beautiful, Minerva. You always do."

"Albus…"

She was cut off when he summoned all his Gryffindor courage and pressed his lips to hers in a gentle kiss. "I've been wanting to do that for ages."

"I'm glad you finally did." She whispered, then leaned in to kiss him again.

Albus stood, then reached down to pull her up. With a wave of his hand the punch and dirt was gone from her face and dress, and her hair was back up. Albus draped his arms loosely around her waist, and pulled her close to him. Minerva wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered "Happy birthday" before kissing him again.

"Thank you, my love." He said holding her tightly for a moment. Then he pulled back just enough to look into her eyes. "How do you feel about going to dinner?"


End file.
